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Posted May 27, 2014 03:18 pm

Letters: Leaders should drop the gas tax

VETERANS

Mental illness

Once again, we take time out of our busy schedules to listen to politicians, many of whom never wore a uniform in the defense of this nation, sermonize on the meaning of service and sacrifice in honoring those who did.

We participate in ceremonies that recognize those who died in the service of this country. We honor them by placing their names on a marble wall immortalizing them forever.

Yet we ignore all those who served from this community, survived the horrors of war, came home with psychological wounds and succumbed to suicide.

Robert Adelhelm, Jacksonville

GAS TAX

A management issue

Council member Bill Gulliford is one of those politicians who never met a tax he didn’t like. His justification for perpetuating the gas tax was less than convincing.

He says that other local jurisdictions would keep their tax in effect, and our gas would stay the same price as theirs even if our taxes are lowered.

How does he know that? He throws out one anecdote from 1986. He says that road and drainage projects from the Better Jacksonville Plan were “committed to”, (meaning we were taxed for them) but have never been constructed.

Why would he think that new tax dollars would be spent more wisely? Jacksonville is a commuter city, and high gas prices hurt working people who have to fill their tanks to get to and from their jobs.

Families have to make tough decisions when it comes to managing money, and we should expect nothing less from our leaders. This constant drumbeat for more taxes grows tiresome. And no to Gulliford, people in Jacksonville aren’t going to ride their bicycles to work.

Terry Smith, Jacksonville

GUNS

What founders intended

Even though the mere mention of gun control sends the gun lobby into hysterics, the facts must be faced.

When the right to bear arms was written into the Constitution, the thought process was to protect Americans from foreign takeover. It couldn’t have been conceived that we would have a nation with crazed citizens walking among us in such numbers.

England has a no-gun policy, which is responsible for its lower murder rates. Of course, all gun owners recite the need for personal protection in public, but it’s only because all citizens here are encouraged to do so.

It would be almost impossible for Americans to vote a “no public gun bill” into existence, but it would save lives.

Senior citizens are vulnerable to gun thieves and create an environment of fear that will cause the death of many in the future. Let us stop this madness before it is too late.

Robert A. Taylor, Jacksonville

VETERANS

History repeats itself

Some things never change. Good letters about scandals at Veterans hospitals. Sweeping changes need to be made for the sake of our veterans. They stood up for us. We should stand up for them.

In 1890, Rudyard Kipling wrote a poem “Tommy” about the British soldier. The sentiment is as true today as it was then. The poem is too long for this letter, but the essence is as long as the guns sound the soldier is promised all kinds of better things in life.

Then the guns stop. Promises are quickly forgotten. Then it’s “Chuck him out the brute.”

It is 134 years later, and we are still mistreating our veterans.

Some things never change.

Faye Irvin, Fleming Island

DEATH PENALTY

A humane option

Much has been written and discussed about the death penalty over the past few years.

Executions have been botched, and more often than not, the execution has been witnessed by observers.

Millions of dollars have been spent across this nation to eliminate those who need to be eradicated. No solution seems to be forthcoming.

If anyone has an execution date set, he or she should simply be taken to a private area and have a 50 cent bullet imbedded in his or her brain.

No fanfare, no publicity, no botched executions. One simple bullet in the brain — no pain, no anguish, just instant death.

Could anything be more “humane?”

Harry Rogers, Jacksonville

SCHOOL REFORM

Common-sense solutions

Florida FCAT results remain flat. Here is how we can change that.

Students in our poorer neighborhoods need to be in smaller classes so they can get individual attention. This is the one reform with evidence that it works.

Students need wraparound services because quite often why students act up or under perform has nothing to do with school.

Then we need a longer school year because often our kids living in poverty need more time to learn and less time in between so they don’t lose what they learned.

After the foundation is set we need more curriculum options in schools, trades, skills and the arts that play to kids’ strengths and keep them interested in school.

If we demand that Tallahassee start investing in our children’s needs instead of sending money to campaign contributors, then we can turn this around.